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Originally Posted by lee r moege
Steve: Nice "I" grade!!!!. Whom ever redid it did a great job. I too don't have problems with a rebuilt/restored/rewhatever gun as long as it was done for a good reason cosmetically or mechanically out of necessity. My favorite "shooting" Parker is a DHE 20 gage on a #1 frame that had been poorly restocked but with beautiful wood that I was able to re-inlet and save. The forend is off an AHE and the serial number on the iron didn't match. The barrels have been sleeved from 16 gage to 20 gage and done right by Merrington I'm told.No, it's not a collector Parker and it's damned heavy for a 20 gage but it is a damned fine clays gun, and at an investment by me of only the woodwork and 2K$ I would rather have it than a some of the worn out crap and repro's I have seen lately. BTW, I now have a Lefever G grade with damascus barrels in 12 gage that looks as good as yours but is untouched except the barrels have been rebrowned. I wish it had steel barrels but these check out and work fine with RST's. Besides that, it was the last "marque" I needed to complete my collection on McIntosh's 7 "Best Guns made in America". (There is an old thread here on the Parker) Lee.  |
The work was done by Keith Kercher in Oregon. I had a wonderful damascus Lefever in my hands 10 years ago, but the dealer wouldn't send it to a local FFL and I lost the gun to the dealer's pal. Oh, well. We live, we learn and we do our best to buy wonderful shotguns.
My Sterlingworth feels like a Parker when in my hands. The Lefever has a heft all its own. It is almost slight. But both the Fox and the Parker feel stronger, meaning less likely to fail, but that's just a subjective evaluation. The Sterlingworth 12 gage with 30 inch tubes F&M is pretty chunky, but nothing like some early autos, like a Model 11 in 12 gage for instance.
I am blown away by the beauty of the damascus barrels and I'd like to gather more. They used to be cheap, since folks were afraid to shoot them, but I see that is changing.